The U.S. Department of Agriculture has designated 150 counties in Georgia, including Banks County, as primary natural disaster areas due to an ongoing drought and excessive heat that has damaged thousands of acres of crops.

“Many producers have lost their crops and ultimately their livelihood due to the devastation caused by the drought,” said agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack. “President Obama and I want these farmers and ranchers to know that we are here for them and we will support them through the recovery process and help them once again become productive suppliers of food, fiber and fuel that keep America prospering. This designation will provide that support.”

The drought — which began April 15, 2011, and continues — caused 30 percent or more loss of forage crops, pasture, grain crops, cotton, peanuts and tobacco in the counties that were designated as a disaster area.

All counties listed were designated natural disaster areas Sept. 7, making all qualified farm operators in the designated areas eligible for low interest emergency (EM) loans from USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA), provided eligibility requirements are met. Farmers in eligible counties have eight months from the date of the declaration to apply for loans to help cover part of their actual losses. FSA will consider each loan application on its own merits, taking into account the extent of losses, security available and repayment ability. FSA has a variety of programs, in addition to the EM loan program, to help eligible farmers recover from adversity.

USDA also has made other programs available to assist farmers and ranchers, including the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Program (SURE), which was approved as part of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008; the Emergency Conservation Program; Federal Crop Insurance; and the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program. Interested farmers may contact their local USDA Service Centers for further information on eligibility requirements and application procedures for these and other programs. Additional information is also available online at http://disaster.fsa.usda.gov.

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